Former Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy thought he had a deal to work at ESPN -- and then he didn't. / Kim Klement, US Presswire

by Michael Hiestand, USA TODAY Sports

by Michael Hiestand, USA TODAY Sports

Networks pay millions, even billions, to show games from marquee leagues. But are they essentially just ad agencies at the beck and call of those leagues? Sometimes it seems like it.

Jeff Van Gundy, ESPN/ABC's lead NBA game analyst, suggests his brother Stan's failure to land a studio analyst role at ESPN raises big questions about whether ESPN's NBA coverage can be reasonably independent.

Jeff, who hadn't previously spoken publicly on the issue until an interview with USA TODAY Sports, says his brother "had a basic agreement" to become an ESPN/ABC analyst in the marquee studio shows that wrap around game coverage: "And then something changed. There's certainly circumstantial evidence that something from the outside -- presumably the NBA -- changed (ESPN's) thinking. ... I was happy when they came to an agreement and shocked when they pulled their offer."

Obviously it's personal for Jeff, who used to be so nervous during some games when Stan coached the Orlando Magic that he wouldn't watch them on TV. And after ESPN asked Jeff to help recruit Stan, "Obviously this stings. Frankly, it's a shame what happened."

Going forward? "As a broadcaster of the NBA, it give you pause," Jeff says. "How forthcoming can you be? You don't want your honesty to cost you a chance at employment.This is a shot across the bow."

Jeff's big picture: "This is an organization that's treated me great. But this raises interesting questions about what a (league-network) partnership means. You have to realize, as a fan, you're not getting the whole truth. ... It seems like there are certain people in each sport that (TV) can't criticize, or you can't criticize the league itself. That's what impressed me when (ESPN's) Mike Tirico and Jon Gruden criticized the NFL over replacement refs. That (Commissioner) Roger Goodell didn't throw a hissy fit at ESPN was impressive."

Stan, fired by the Magic in May, has been quite vocal that the NBA kept him from getting an ESPN job, telling SheridanHoops.com that Commissioner David Stern "likes to control everybody and I said things he didn't like." (For example: Stan two years ago compared Stern to Libya's Moammar Gadhafi, saying Stern doesn't "tolerate other people's opinion or free speech or anything.")

Sunday, ESPN's Mike Soltys said, "We had discussions with (Stan) and we were interested in a role for him at ESPN. Ultimately, we moved in a different direction."

Stan, previously on Dan LeBatard's radio show, has responded to that ESPN line of thinking that the sides just couldn't agree on specific role: "That's a bunch of BS from ESPN. We actually did agree on a role, but they came back and pulled it."

NBA spokesman Mike Bass on Sunday said, "It was ESPN and ESPN alone who made any decisions about Stan Van Gundy."

Jeff says Stan is pursuing other on-air jobs -- "Maybe some college basketball or working for a team on a part-time basis" -- and would have been "outstanding at ESPN because he works hard, is smart and would have said what he thought the truth is."

Jeff, who teams with Mike Breen on the NBA Finals, is ESPN's top NBA opinionizer. He says, "You have to be careful as a news organization that you don't fall into voluntary censorship, that you worry about offending your 'league partner.' I never worried about that. I worry about fans listening."

Jeff wants to be clear he likes ESPN -- "It's supportive, kind, fun and generous, frankly" -- and the network doesn't pass along any pressure it gets from the league, except when producers sometimes suggest "you were wrong to go here, that you could have made the same point by saying it this way."

But, he says, "While this is an organization that's treated me great, it raises questions about what these so-called partnerships mean. You have to realize as a fan, you're not getting the whole truth."

When Jeff first interviewed with ESPN and TNT, where he was an analyst, he says, "The first thing they asked was whether you're willing to be critical. You have to think long and hard. You might not want to go where they want you to go."

The new monthly 60 Minutes Sports will be on the CBS-owned Showtime premium channel. Fager says each episode will have two or three original segments and one sports-related segment from the original news show. "But we don't want to be locked into any formula."

When asked if the Showtime show will resemble Real Sports on HBO, Fager says "it will resemble Real Sports, which is quality programming and, in some ways, might be based on 60 Minutes."

Fager says the new sport show's reporting , which will come from CBS News and CBS Sports, won't be affected by whether CBS has deals with a particular league: "We're reporters. We cover everything with the same intensity. Fairness is our priority -- it trumps any other kind of conflict."